Posted: 03/13/2012 | Last updated: March 13, 2012 at 06:08 PM
ST. LOUIS – The NCAA Wrestling Championships return to St. Louis for the first time since 2009 as Lehigh sends eight wrestlers to Scottrade Center for the 82nd edition of the national tournament. The Mountain Hawks returned to the national spotlight at last year’s championships with two finalists, three All-Americans and Lehigh’s first top ten team finish since 2006. All three All-Americans return for Lehigh, including defending NCAA heavyweight champion Zach Rey and 184-pound finalist Robert Hamlin.
The Mountain Hawks finished second by a mere 2.5 points at the EIWA Championships, March 3-4 at Princeton. Hamlin, returning All-American Brandon Hatchett and junior Shane Welsh all won titles as Lehigh placed all ten of its wrestlers in the top eight including eight in the top four. Historically, Lehigh has been one of the nation’s most successful programs and the Mountain Hawks will be looking to improve on last year’s eighth place finish that saw Lehigh crown three All-Americans and finish in the top ten in the team standings for the first time since 2006.
Freshman Mason Beckman will be the first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday as he will face No. 2 seed Logan Stieber of Ohio State in the round of 32.
Rey earned the No. 4 seed at heavyweight and will begin defense of his championship against Adam Chalfant of Indiana. Hamlin is Lehigh’s highest seed, earning the No. 2 spot at 184 and will open with Casey Newburg of Kent State. The Mountain Hawk third returning All-American, senior Brandon Hatchett, will open with James Brundage of Rider at 165.
Senior Joe Kennedy is the fourth Mountain Hawk to earn a seed, as he is seeded 12th at 197. Kennedy will open up against Richard Perry of Bloomsburg.
In addition to Beckman’s first round matchup with Stieber, two of Lehigh’s three remaining unseeded wrestlers drew seeded opponents. EIWA champions Shane Welsh will meet No. 7 Dylan Ness of Minnesota at 149, while senior Brian Tanen drew the No. 11 seed James Green of Nebraska at 157.
Sophomore Steve Dutton will face Mitchell Port of Edinboro in a battle of unseeded wrestlers at 141.
Lehigh has the fifth most NCAA Champions (27) and the ninth most All-Americans (131) of all Division I wrestling programs. The Brown and White have never won the NCAA Team Championship, coming as close as second in 1939, third in 1965, 1979 and a tie for third in 2004.
Penn State won last year’s team title in Philadelphia and the Nittany Lions will be challenged by Iowa and Minnesota among others.
The 82nd NCAA Championships get underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CDT from Scottrade Center. The opening round will feature pigtail rounds and preliminaries. Free live audio coverage of all of Lehigh’s NCAA Tournament action can be heard at Lehighsports.com.
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Event:
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82nd NCAA Championships
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Dates:
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March 15-17, 2012
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Session 1:
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Thursday, March 15, 12:00 p.m. ET (pigtail round, round of 32)
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Session 2:
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Thursday, March 15, 7:30 p.m. (round of 16 and wrestle-back prelims)
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Session 3:
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Friday, March 16, 11:00 a.m. (quarterfinals and wrestle-backs)
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Session 4:
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Friday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. (semifinals and wrestle-backs)
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Session 5:
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Saturday, March 17, 11:00 a.m. (consolation semifinals and medal rounds – 3rd-8th)
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Session 6:
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Saturday, March 17, 7:30 p.m. (national finals)
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All session times listed are Eastern Daylight
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Location:
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St. Louis, Mo.
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Arena:
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Scottrade Center (22,000)
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Lehigh’s dual record:
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12-5, 7-1 EIWA
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History:
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Lehigh’s best finish was second in 1939. The Mountain Hawks finished eighth last year. Penn State is the defending champion.
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Television:
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Quarterfinals, semifinals and medal rounds on ESPNU (SE Dial Position 174, DirecTV channel 208). National finals live on ESPN.
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Radio:
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None
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Internet Broadcast:
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FREE live audio of all Lehigh matches on Lehighsports.com
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